


Flowers Can Bloom From Sanguine Dust

by Optima_chama



Series: A Love That Rests in Dusty Ruin [2]
Category: Dusttale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A Flower for Each Chapter, A Meaning for Each Chapter, ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Apparently I Lied About It Being A One Time Thing, Buckle up kiddies, Chara Fucked Up, Enemies to Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Fucked Up, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Flower Language, Flowey's Feelings for Reader are Platonic, Frisk (Undertale) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Frisk Remembers Resets, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealousy, Learning to Trust Again, Love/Hate, Magically Imbued Reader, Nightmares, Nonbinary Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Papyrus Fucked Up, Platonic Love, Post Dusttale Timeline, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Papyrus, Racism, Reader Fucked Up, Reader remembers resets, Redemption Fic To DtDaCS, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Regret, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Sans Has Some Work to Do, Sequel, Soft Chara (Undertale), The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, This Gon Be A Long Ride, learning to forgive, sans fucked up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-08-19 20:53:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16542032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Optima_chama/pseuds/Optima_chama
Summary: You had always loved flowers. They were such beautiful gifts that Nature gave to the world. One fluent in their language could show their feelings to others in a nonverbal manner. You cherished that; you adored them with all that you had.And after the past timeline?Well...It was the only thing you were sure you still loved anymore........But how long would it be before that changed too?~~~~~~~~~Two emotions will always persist, even to the end of time.Love.And Malice.Follow Reader on a long, difficult, heart-wrenching journey in which they attempt to search for their reasons to exist, love, and forgive their killer, their betraying love, and themselves through the one thing they love most.Flowers.





	1. False

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The Bitter Truth is better than the Sweetest Lie._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> .....Whoever said that never imagined a situation like this.

“N-No, stop, please…” You whimpered as you attempted to scramble backward on your hands, away from the buttercup sporting a desperate and clearly unhinged expression. You shook as you watched thorny vines, ones that curled and slid like ominous snakes, sprout from out of the ground and blocking off all routes of escape to your sides. You must have sounded like a scared, wounded animal as you tried to keep your hands and feet out of reach from the undulating vines. “Stay back...! W-Why won’t you leave me alone!?”

"Because I need you to _remember!!_ ” Flowey shrieked back, the appendage-like plants roiling with a deep negative emotion. “You can’t use the Reset as an excuse forever! Not after all we’ve been through! Just how long are you going to lie to yourself?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!!” You replied, damn near hysterical as you continued to back away, eyes locked firmly on the flower that just continued to advance despite your obvious vehemence against his presence. “I don’t know what Resets are, and I don’t know _you_ either!! You’re scaring me, please--!”

“ _Enough,_ Y/n!” You cowered away from the guttural snarl, your jaw snapping shut and your eyes going wide as you felt your back hit a wall. You glanced back and nearly whimpered upon realizing you were effectively backed into a corner.

You weren’t exactly sure _why_ your fear seemed to skyrocket upon realizing you were like a mouse in a trap, but your body was reaching unholy levels of terror, as if screaming at you in utter alarm as to _why in the hell you’d give yourself the chance to end up in a situation like this again---_

 

…... _Again…...?_

 

You could feel a light pressure building in your head all of a sudden, along with a sense of dizziness. You blinked rapidly a few times and shook your head a bit in an attempt to rid yourself of the strange woozy feeling. Unfortunately, the movement only made it worse and you knew that if you were standing right now, you would have been swaying on your feet.

This was starting to become common for you.

 _‘This is not the time for this,_ so _not the time for an episode-’_

“You’re so _selfish_ , you know that?” With a blink, you turned your gaze back towards Flowey, whose expression morphed into something rather quiet and furious. You shook slightly at the livid glare being pointed at you, and felt tears bead at the corners of your eyes. “You think you’re the only one who wants to forget? To just pretend that nothing bad actually happened?”

 

...What?

 

“Well... guess what? You’re _not._ You aren’t the only one who wants to erase tragedy from your mind…! Pretend as if all the death and terror and _pain_ was just a terrible nightmare!”

“I… I-I don’t--!”

 _“DoN’t YoU gIvE mE tHaT sHiT.”_ He growled with a manic sort of anger, causing you to cower at the mere volume and emotion in the dual voice he managed to create. “Even Frisk didn’t take this long to remember-- You’re _choosing_ to block it all out! You’re **_choosing_ **to lie to yourself!”

Frisk… You… You knew that name…

B-But... How...? _Where?_

_Why...?!_

“Y’know, you used to be someone with some _Integrity._ ” If possible, you felt your eyes widen further, your shaking calming for a minute at that particular word. It… Resonated with you, somewhere deep down… Locking gazes with the bloom, a trembling whimper escaped from you as his surprisingly malleable white little face began to morph into something horrifying. “But with all that Determination you chugged down the last timeline, I bet that time has long past, _huh?_ ”

You froze.

Determination.

 

_Determination._

 

_That single. Damned. Word._

 

That _one_ word, hissed out with such abhorrence, brought on a nauseating wave of emotions in an instant: Recognition, disgust, horror, and such a encompassing feeling of undiluted _fear_ that you had to steel yourself to choke down the rising bile in your throat.

You remembered… White.

Bitter cold white….

_Snow… It was snow._

_Why would… snow be so important…?_

No… Wait.

There wasn’t just white. There was…

_Red._

…Determination…?

_So much red._

No… It wasn't that….

_Your chest was heaving, your lungs burning as you moved further and further towards hyperventilation. What was all this red on the snow…?_

_…Why was it_ **_moving?_ **

“Is it starting to come back to you now? Or are you still kidding yourself?” You realized you were clutching at your face as you stared horrified at your knees, nails digging and clawing so harshly at your skin you were sure you would leave welts. The violet earth flickered back and forth with the sight of snow tainted with red, causing you to whimper.

 _What is it…? What is all that red stuff…? Why is there so_ **_much?!_ **

“Ohoho... Sounds like you are~...” You began to shake so much that you felt your teeth chatter, eyes blown wide in terror as images, ones that would make the terrors of nightmares cower in fear, flickered through your mind and past your eyes. “Don’t lie to yourself Y/n… You know _exactly_ what all that red stuff is… Don’t you~?”

You had… said that out loud...?

“Well, go on. What is it…? You know what it is, so _tell me_.” You shook your head with a soft sob, hot tears burning the surface of your freezing skin as they trailed down your skin.

“N-No, no, it can’t be, i-it’s not-- _ughk!!_ ” Thorned vines closed around your throat just them, causing you to choke on your words. As Flowey squeezed them, you could feel them prick at your neck, and small trickles of heat sliding down your neck and staining the top of your shirt.

_It... C-can’t be…!_

_“SaY iT!!”_ He growled in that choral voice again, a threat in the tautness of his vines. He squeezed them again threateningly, and you whimpered as you felt the ghost of harsh, rocklike fingers around your throat in your memory.

With a snivel and great difficulty, you complied.

_“......Blood…...”_

“Very good.” The flower purred out in a manner that made you feel even iller than you already did. “And tell me… Who spilled it? _Why?_ ”

The vines coiled tighter around your neck, the suggestion in their tense movement saying that they could easily crush your vocal cords in an instant if you refused to face what you feared what he was insinuating. The visions increased in their frequency, confusing your mind to the point where you couldn’t discern which location you actually were at anymore. It felt so _real._ You could hear the howling of the unforgiving winter wind, feel the sting of the chill against your unclothed arms, causing you to shiver. The crimson blood was spreading across the snow, slowly trickling towards where you were collapsed.

_There was so much of it that it could have only come from…_

Your eyes, despite the terror-stricken shrieking of your mind telling you not to look, followed the trail of the damned liquid, up and up to where it gave way to a wider pool until--

 

A body.

_A dead body._

_A dead body with a very familiar light blue sweater with three light violet stripes across the chest and sleeves._

_They were horribly_ **_mutilated_ ** _by thin and deep wounds…_

**_Only a large knife could make divots like that into a body..._ **

_And as the blood drained from the unmoving corpse, so did the life from the seething crimson eyes that were glaring you down._

_You knew who they were._

 

_Who both of them were._

 

_Your mouth moved of its own accord, despite how your mind felt frozen out of pure fear._

_“...I’m sorry, Frisk.” You had never heard your voice sound so dead before… It made you flinch. A glint of light from your peripheral caught your eye, and you felt the cold sweat of terror bead on your neck as you gazed upon a large kitchen knife dripping with sanguine liquid._

_It was in your hand._

…….No…..

_“Reset again, Chara…” You heard yourself say, the deadness of your tone turning into something manic and purely hateful. Not even your family upon the surface was able to elicit such venom from you... Such enjoyment at seeing the life fade from their eyes. “I’ll be here waiting for you~.”_

No...

_Vines shivered fearfully against your neck as the world around you glitched at the edges of your vision-_

“N… N-No…” You breathed in horror, feeling your stomach flip-flop and sweat prickle uncomfortably all around your body, “Not m-m-me… _No…!_ ”

“Oh c’mon Y/n~... You know better by now, don’t you…?” You curled further into yourself as sickening and confusing memories tortured the edges of your senses, a scream becoming lodged in your throat and depriving you of any oxygen that Flowey was allowing you to have. “Don’t be such a hypocrite… You’ve never been a very good liar, you know~”

“....I d-didn’t….”

“Liar.”

“T-They w-w-wouldn’t…!”

_“Liar~!”_

“I _wouldn’t…!!_ ”

_“LIAR!!!” You felt yourself shriek, eyes wide and offended rage coursing through your veins as your hand gripped the knife you brandished above your head tighter, a pitiful greying cracked soul floating in front of you… Yours. Just one swing was all you would need to end it all-_

 

**_“D o n’ t-!”_ **

 

_Your eyes glanced up. Movement slowed down within your line of sight; you could see the visible puffs of your breath in the cold air... Various individual flakes of snow drifting towards the ground… Your arm slowly making its way down to stab at your already dead inner self…_

_And the figure before you making long strides in a vain attempt to catch you before the knife could hit your Soul._

_You knew that figure. Its size, its teeth, its strength, its eyelights, its name; you knew it all._

_And it filled you with the purest form of terror._

 

**_‘You won’t get me, never again, I won’t let you get me-!!!’_ **

 

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” You paid no mind to the snapping sound similar to that of stems breaking, ignored the monstrous screech that escaped Flowey and the vibrations of powers underneath the both of you, all you could do was stand and run; Rip away from the weakening grip of Flowey’s vines and sprint past the barricade shredded by jagged red-violet bones, screaming and crying. You took your legs to the limit as you disappeared into the Ruins, hearing the vegetation’s anguished calls for you to come back.

 

_No... No no nononononONONONO-!_

 

_FORGET!_

 

**_FORGET!!!_ **

 

* * *

 

It had been strange, at first...

You had been readily convinced that it all had just been, as Flowey said; a nightmare. At least, that’s what you had been trying to tell yourself. After all, you had _just_ fallen down, _just_ awoke over the patch of golden flowers looking up at the hole you had… jumped... into. You didn’t know if anyone was down here; you didn’t even know how you were still _alive_ from a fall like that. Your mind was foggy and your body was riddled with goosebumps as if expecting something, some _one_ specific to jump out and get you.

You were unsure as to who it was your mind was alerting you to beware of-- A face couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ form in your head, as if it was subconsciously blocking the image from showing itself and keeping you from a breakdown. But two irises of extremely unnatural color, the right light a blood red and the other an electric blue rimmed with red and flaring a menacing violet light, stood out within the fog of your mind; seated above a wide and demented grin, bone white and curves speaking of madness and ill-intent.

You felt abnormally dirty for some reason, even more than what the dust and stray flower petals clinging to your clothes dictated--Your stomach was upset, your throat was unbelievably sore (as if you had played tug of war with a German Shepard with the rope tied around your neck for twenty minutes) and you felt grimy and disgusting, but the filth felt like it was _underneath_ your skin. You felt terrible, to the point of almost being physically ill, and you had no idea why.

_How was that possible…?_

You had gotten up, dazed and woozy, and stumbled your way to an arched doorway further down in the cavern to try and find out where you were despite an uneasy voice at the back of your mind murmuring that you had seen all of this before a very long time ago.

Imagine your surprise finding a talking flower.

You had been perfectly fine pretending that you had forgotten everything due to the Reset’s influence because to be honest, you partially _had._ Perhaps that was just how Resets worked when you were the one who initiated them? Maybe it was your brain had blocked the memory and it had been fighting as hard as it could to keep the memory away? You weren’t sure, but Flowey wasn’t having it. Your first meeting ended with you running away panicked, wide-eyed, and crying further into the Ruins with the sound of him shouting after you in desperation, frantically begging for you to _remember_ , to not _abandon_ him like _Chara and Frisk both had._

His pleas still swam around in your mind like frenzied fish in a bowl, making you anxious and nauseous with every circle.

_‘No… No--N-NO! DON’T GO!! Please... I-I don’t want to be alone anymore! You’re all I have left!! Wait!! Please, WAIT!!’_

You’d ran and hadn’t stopped until you met Toriel, literally running into her while in hysterics. The poor goat monster hadn’t been able to get an actual sentence out of you until the next day, and even then they were complemented by tears and warbling sobs. You didn’t speak of the talking yellow bloom, merely that you had fallen from a terrible life into the Underground, which was the truth in more ways than one.

If only you had known just how true it was.

...Well, after that day, you certainly didn’t remain ignorant much longer.

Toriel was dismayed when you burst into the house sobbing like a madwoman for the second time in her presence, unsure of what to do when you collapsed at her feet while clawing at your throbbing head; which honestly felt like it was going to split in half. You would have felt so guilty if it wasn’t for the fact that you felt so sick you wanted to throw up your insides.

Neither of you were terribly surprised when your hysterics essentially laid you low; delirious with a fever. Distinguishing between fiction and reality… Wasn’t very high on the list of your abilities upon being bedridden. You couldn’t remember much of the real world during your illness; other than the sound of your tortured screaming and the distorted sight of Toriel’s exhausted, distressed face.

Nightmares and delusions were your true reality during that time.

You remembered names and with them, emotions.

Flowey; Not much emotional impact there, due to there being bad blood between you from past resets but there was… An uneasy alliance and… A vague sense of protectiveness you felt for him. That was probably the simplest emotion cocktail within this whole thing.

Frisk… You felt so much sorrow and guilt upon just thinking that name. You finally remembered all the good times you had spent with the child, so much hope you had for them. You loved them, like a big sister. You wanted to protect them, but you also felt a bit of anger. Why would they allow all that pain and terror to transpire in the first place?

….Maybe they didn’t have a choice.

 _Chara._ You hated them, plain and simple. You despised them with every fiber of your being for what they had done. You felt so much disgust and confusion, not understanding in the slightest what had driven them to the brink. You couldn’t get it. You weren’t sure you ever would.

….Or maybe that’s what you tried to tell yourself.

**Papyrus.**

_...I’m so sorry brother…_

 

……

 

Sans.

 

_Sans._

 

**_Sans._ **

 

...You finally remembered the name to the specter haunting your dreams… Remembered the skull that displayed the manic grin and insane eyelights.

You remembered the joy.

You remembered the lust.

You remembered the love.

….But you also remembered the betrayal.

All the anger.

All the fear.

All the pain.

All the _death._

 

 **_...Your_ ** _death._

 

Your tears felt like lava dribbling down your feverish cheeks, eyes staring unseeingly towards the flowers Toriel had left placed near your bed in hopes that seeing one of your favorite things in the world would help you recover soon. What she didn’t know was that flowers had a language.

 

Yellow Lilies.

 

_False._

  
  
  


_Such lies I’ve been telling myself… If only I could continue them._

 

**_The lies hurt so much less......_ **

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Guess who's baaaaaaack~?_ =)


	2. Anger and Resentment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Five Stages of Grief aren't as much bullshit as some people would like to say. Denial is the first stage, after all.
> 
> The second?
> 
> Anger.

Weeks passed. Your fever faded away into health as if it had been nothing but a bad dream.

...But you knew better.

Of course, you tried to return to your fantasies; the pretense of blissful ignorance. But it was just like they said--Once that mirror was shattered, there was no true way to fix it.

And well...

That made you angry.

Angry.

At.

_Everything._

You were irate at your closed off surroundings, the high energy of your irritation making the convergent claustrophobia almost intolerable. You sat sullenly at the dining table, giving short answers to Toriel as she asked about your day. You felt bitter about your guilt for being so curt towards her, couldn't bear to look into her tired and worried gaze. Your expression from day to day ranged from dead to utterly pissed off at anything you came in contact with.

You wanted to express your wrath to _him_ , wanted to scream and cry and shout in his face and make him feel every form of regret. You were vexed by Frisk allowing what had happened to happen, though logic told you they probably tried to stop it with all their strength, and the guilt that consumed you when you realized you had murdered a god-damned _baby_ countless of times because of their misfortune of picking up a Soul-sucking parasite only served to make you angrier. Occasionally, you felt that _itch_ ; the one that could only stem from the lingering after-effect of having LOVE (as short as that time was for you), and your constant fury only exacerbated that rare _urge_ to feel blood on your fingers, bones snapping within your grip, or that terrifying feeling of magic pulsing underneath your skin wanting to rip a body apart...

And even if it was only Chara you fantasized doing such terrible things to...

_It made you **sick.**_

You were resentful upon waking up, seething as the world and day went on when you felt it should have been crashing down around your ears. Moseying along at its relaxed pace as if nothing ever happened to you.

Although in a sense... Nothing _had_ , had it? That was the whole point of a RESET... And wasn't that the whole reason you did it? None of the events that plagued you actually occurred in this timeline, yet left you with all of the emotional and psychological scars that came from remembering. 

 

_You had always known the world was cruel... But this...?_

_This was... Torture._

 

But most of all, you were furious at Flowey for ruining that oh so sweet veil of Ignorance.

You hadn't seen him since he stole your denial from you, of course. You could hazard a guess as to why as well.

The Reset had taken away all of the physical evidence of the past timeline... But metaphysical was a completely different story.

You still had Magic.

Still had _Determination._

It hadn't originally been yours. But it had been so bonded and intertwined with your DNA and Soul, that it irrevocably and inexcusably belonged to no one else but you anymore. And in your outburst so long ago, you had actually managed to hurt him. You had toyed with the idea that you had killed him by accident for a while... But upon realizing you had no EXP to speak of this timeline, you knew it wasn't possible.

You _despised_ the relief you felt wash over you upon recognizing this. So what if he had died? Lucky bastard could get away with a few torn petals and uprooted vines while you suffered so much more? After he had stolen something so precious from you?

You wanted it back. The Denial. You wanted to feel anything but the never-ending fire of agony and hate and resentment burning your soul every day, every night, and even in your sleep. You wanted the pain to go away. You just wanted it all to come to an _end._

It was shameful at just how much misdirected resentment you were showing towards everyone and everything you came in contact with. You realized this and, in self-disgust, began to pull away into yourself. You would leave into the Ruins before Toriel would awake in the morning, stay in one of the lower rooms that the puzzle pitfalls led to, and only return around dinner time; having learned if you didn't go back yourself, Toriel would just come looking for you. You were losing weight from skipping proper meals, looking more and more sickly as the days passed. If you were being completely honest with yourself, just the mere thought of food made your insides churn and the only reason you managed to choke down dinner was because Toriel refused to let you leave the table without finishing your meal.

If you kept this up, you would be the second ghost haunting the Ruins... Only, you'd be more like a poltergeist or a banshee with all the rage bouncing around your Soul. In fact, you had the suspicion that concerned monsters would heal you the best they could whenever you napped amongst the catacombs and that was why you hadn't keeled over just yet.

Heh. Ignorance truly had been bliss... You would welcome death at this point if it meant you could escape the pain of knowledge. The pain of existing with such a situation and having no power to change it.

_After all, it wouldn't be the first time..._

 

Right?

* * *

Apparently, today was going to be a day of exhaustion.

That was... Fine.

Yeah. You were okay with that. Days like these were few and far between anyway; when you were so tired of the fact that you even _woke up_ to properly let yourself drown in the sullenness that settled deep into your bones. It was if you slept... But it only served to make you even more sluggish.

You truly don't even know how you got yourself out of bed and to your little hidey-hole. You could imagine you were like a zombie, aimlessly shuffling and stumbling to wherever you just decided to drop next. You don't remember putting on the robe Toriel had given you to wear, or your trek to your place of refuge but somehow, some way, you were collapsed onto your pile of always freshly leaves and curling in on yourself, knowing you subsequently lost all will to move until your internal alarm clock told you it was time to force yourself to eat again.

Your mind grew even fuzzier then. Time passed; whether slowly or quickly, you weren't sure. Even if you had wanted to move, you were overcome by a sudden weak feeling that seeped into your muscles and just... Couldn't. Your sight faded in and out, the crimson leaves standing out yet blending with the violet ground in your blurry gaze.

_I wonder..._

_Could my body turn into flowers if I let myself waste away here...?_

That would be nice. You liked flowers. It would be far more...  _preferable_  as an existence. To be something to beautify the world, or lighten someone's heart, if only for a short season or two...

_What flower would I become... If I gave in now...?_

_Lavender...?_

_Balsamine...?_

_Peony...?_

_Maybe I wouldn't even be a flower... I might just be a regular plant._

_Aloe... Or maybe a Willow bush..._

_That would be fine too..._

_....._

_.........._

"You Delta- _damned_ ** _IDIOT._** _"_

Your eyes fluttered open feebly (when had you closed them?), the effort in itself tiring you, just to see a pretty pissed off golden flower looming over your face amongst the red leaves. Surprisingly, he didn't look as bad as you thought he would after your last encounter; perhaps he had used all that time away from you to heal... Or maybe you didn't hurt him as much as you thought you had.

You didn't move. You couldn't even flinch.

_Why was he here...?_

You stared with a glassy unfocused gaze in still silence, which only seemed to make him angrier. You couldn't really fathom as to why.

Thankfully, he deigned it necessary to enlighten you with a scary expression and a hiss.

"So what? Are you just gonna let yourself  _rot?"_ You gave a long slow blink as he shook in his position over your face, probably struggling with the effort to not hit you. 

You stared a bit longer, hazy and uncaring.

"...Why are you here?" You heard a whispy, frigid voice say-- It was only with the uncomfortable feeling of slight strain seizing your vocal cords that you realized that the dull, hollow words originated from  _you._

You were surprised by that.

"Why do you  _think_ I'm here, you fool?!" He growled, little sproots just barely peeking out of the ground close around his stem.

Hm.

"...Are you going to kill me...?"

"What?!" He actually did a double-take, little eyes widening slightly in shock before he scowled once more. "N-No!! I'm here to get your ass up and moving!"

Ah. 

"...That's a shame." You muttered quietly, closing your eyes again with the intent to ignore him. You weren't planning to move from this spot, even if your life depended on it.

_Especially if that was the case._

"Wha-... H-Hey, you _dumbass!_ You're going to _starve_ to death if you just lay here like that!!" He screeched into your ear and seemingly growing more incensed when you gave no reaction or response. "You're just going to give up on life now that you know the truth?!"

Is that what you were doing...? You weren't very sure. It would make sense though. Anything was better than all this poison that was built up inside you.

"W-What about Toriel...? Are you going to subject her to burying another child if your Soul withers into dust?!" His voice had officially gone up a full octave now. "Are you that  _cruel?!_ "

This sparked... _Something_ inside of you. What, you didn't know. But it willed you to speak, anyhow.

"Speak not of cruelty to me, Flowey..." You muttered, continuing to keep still. "You have no right, considering what you have done in the past yourself... You are not blameless in the slightest, so do not act as if you are."

...That was the most you've spoken aloud in a month, let alone to someone other than yourself...

_He needed to leave._

"This has nothing to do with hypocrisy; I'm trying to keep you alive!!"

"...Your efforts are unwanted." You droned, ignoring that little voice in the back of your head saying that perhaps you were lying to yourself. "Go away."

"Never!" You released a soft, long sigh before opening your eyes slowly.

Your sight was still blurry so perhaps you had just missed when you first laid down, but... When had there been splotches of violet and pink amongst the red leaves? What were those...?

....Meh. It didn't matter. Your gaze flickered up to lock with Flowey's; the only reason he was so clear within your sight was because he was looming so close to your face.

"...I don't understand why you're being so worrisome. I'm human, Flowey; surely you know what that means...? Whether I die now, or fifty years later- It would make no difference." Came the whisper as your gaze lingered uncaringly on the new patches of color. "I'd still die eventually... So why can't it be now?"

"The  _difference,_ " He hissed sibilantly, growing increasingly more incensed with your blatant disregard for your survival, "Is all that Determination you have now--YOU'RE the one that Reset, idiot! If you die, the timeline will just keep Reloading!" You felt yourself twitch at this reminder. He noticed. "It'll just be an endless cycle of pain for everyone involved and I  _know_ you'd never be willing to put others through that bullshit again, let alone yourself!"

However, you had a counter-argument ready.

"...Only if I was Determined enough to keep living." Was the hum you gave in return, watching as he bared his little fangs at you.

"I know what you're thinking, go ahead and try that--It just means  _I'll_ gain control over the timeline again." He tilted his nonexistent nose up at you, smirking darkly in victory. "I still have Save Files back before you fell; Every time you die, I'll just keep LOADing you back."

The edges of your lips turned downwards only slightly. You'd take Flowey seriously on this threat; after all, hadn't he manipulated the timeline thousands of times before just to suit his own wants? The cruelty of it had never mattered to him; in fact, he had even reveled in it occasionally. He would do such a thing without question.

How annoying.

Still though... The question remained.

"And... Why exactly do you want me to live, Asriel?" You breathed, paying no attention to his responding flinch and frantic glancing around to make sure no one else had become suddenly privy to such secret information. "It is not like we were ever friends... Our arrangement in the last timeline was one of necessity--Not affection. You can't deceive me; Why does it _really_ matter to you if I die or not...?"

The flower turned his head away, obvious confusion and frustration whirling like a hurricane on his little face. Silence coldly sat between you two before you spoke again. "My death would be useful to the Underground anyway... Monsters go free and I get peace." You had the urge to shrug but decided that would take too much effort. All Monsters that lived in the Ruins were aware of your humanity but since you never raised a weapon towards any of them, they honestly didn't care. You honestly wondered why they all seemed to care about you so deeply though. As you said, your death would only benefit them.

So you were perplexed as to why any of them would go through so much trouble for your meaningless life now.

After another moment of deliberation, he huffed and turned back to you with a glare. "...That's not important right now. I just can't have you dying on me--You're the only one like me in the Underground, the only one alive who remembers the past, other than-"

You knew what he was going to say,  _who_ he was going to name and without thinking, you lashed out.

 _"Dare say HIS name in front of me, and I'll fucking **end you."**_ You snarled aloud with startling ferocity, rage flickering to life like a hungry flame in your heart and damn near bubbling over. The fury took you by surprise in its suddenness, its inferno burning away your lethargy and sharpening your gaze into clarity for a few precious moments. Flowey reared back in shock and obvious fear, staring at a point above your head with wide, frightened eyes.  _"I don't EVER want to hear it again, **do you hear me?"**_

You don't know why anyone should have taken you or your threat seriously at all. You still couldn't move, and you felt so terribly weak, so it wasn't as if you could carry out any threats. But that anger, that  _virulence_...It was almost as if it had jump-started your heart from its cold intermittent beat and seared its warmth back through your veins.

You could feel your magic too, rising with your splenetic intent; malevolent flames burning from your left eye (just like _his_ , you realized with no small amount of disgust) and forming a Red-Violet bone spear aimed right at him above your head. That was probably what he was so afraid of.

Logic dictated you were being unreasonable. But your Soul couldn't possibly give any less of a damn.

"O...O-O-Okay, okay, okay! I'm sorry, I w-won't say it, just please-" He began to shake slightly on his stem, his slightly ripped petals quivering and small tears beading at the corners of his eyes. "P-Please don't... hurt me..."

Your eyes narrowed inimically at the unwelcome emotion, and you came to the realization that you were done entertaining Flowey's actions any longer. "Now. Get. Lost."

 _"N-No._  I... I-I'm not moving from this spot... until you regain some Determination...!" Despite the brave words, you could see the fear rooted deep in his face.

_Tch... Stubborn brat._

He knew you could kill him. You knew you could kill him. If he was dead before you, he couldn't carry out any of his threats. After all, he meant so little to you personally. And you had killed before.

 _The itch... It would be so easy.._.

...But for some reason...

............

"Then I hope you enjoy just swaying there until dinner time." If you were even still strong enough to move by then. "Rot, for all I care. I'm not going _anywhere_  until then." You gave him one last venomous look before dispelling your magic and letting your eyes fall shut again, completely intent on ignoring him now. You didn't want to be bothered any longer. He wasn't worth it, you told yourself.

......

 

.................

 

He was gone again. With your eyes closed, you didn't witness him leaving, but you felt his presence disappear.

It took him some time for him to leave, but eventually, he did. Strange, considering all that big talk he was spewing of not leaving until you had the will to live again. Though it made sense to get away from a presence that had threatened your life.

Hmph.

 

 

...........

 

 

Your previous state of exhaustion hadn't come back, however. Your ability to stay as still as stone had vanished. The weakness in your bones was being leeched away by your irritation, the only sign that it had been there in the first place was the weird jelly-like feeling lingering in your muscles as if they had simply fallen asleep for a long time and were now just waking up. You squirmed restlessly in your fetal position upon the leaves, attempting to find your comfort again... But it wouldn't come.

The fire inside you wouldn't allow it.

You tried to fight against it, really you did. You didn't want to move, didn't want to feel.

But that was exactly what was happening.

You stayed there for perhaps an hour longer purely out of spite, before you broke. With a loud impassioned sound that sounded like a cross between a growl and a screech, you forced yourself to a sitting position. The whole room was feeling incredibly stifling now.

Sitting and stewing in your impotent rage was most definitely not one of the healthiest things to partake in, your body decided; not when you could be doing more productive things. With an impatient rumbling that could dissuade a tiger from approaching, your stomach made its feelings extremely well known with a nice side of pain to go along with it.

Your body no longer cared if your brain thought it wasn't hungry, it knew it was lying by this point. And strangely enough, your magic agreed with said decision.

And you didn't carry food or money on you anymore, so you knew if you needed to eat, you would need to head back to Toriel's house.

_How bothersome..._

Lost in your grumblings, you didn't realize you were feeling more resistance than what your weak body could expect until you had managed to bring yourself to your feet.

You swayed a little, somewhat light-headed. It was to be expected. However, what  _wasn't_ expected was your foot snagging on something as you turned to shamble to the slot leading back to the main path.

Your mind went to the assumption that Flowey was attempting to stop you from moving, despite how illogical the idea was (he was the one that wanted you to get up, in the first place) and you had whirled around with a snarl on your face and magic sparking warningly on your fingertips to properly frighten the bloom for attempting to accost you again.

Well.

There was flora clinging to your foot. But it wasn't yellow. Or sporting a face.

These were purple. And pink.

And there was a cluster of them all over the red leaves.

Your irritation abated slightly as your eyes narrowed at the perennials, thin young vines clinging to your bare feet like a child's greedy grip around a beloved toy. The ends pinched into your skin somewhat uncomfortably and you hissed softly at the digging feeling into your flesh as you shifted.

Upon closer inspection, you could see that there were some little green hooks of vegetation broken off in some areas of your robe, ripped off from the creeping vines that had been outlining your body amongst the crimson leaves.

.....What?

You stared for a moment before leaning down to rip the vines away from your feet, freeing yourself from the encroaching grip. Your rough handling of them caused one of the flowers to snap off into your hands, the frail petals nearly crushed between your numb fingers.

_Were these what I had seen earlier...? When had they gotten here...?_

You took the flower with you as you made your way back to Toriel, taking your time in your trek to study it.

It was small, fitting in your palm, and shaped like the Bell of a trumpet, the connection of the petals a dark purple star. Due to your connection to flowers upon the surface, you were able to identify it rather quickly.

You had honestly mistaken it for a Morning Glory at first... But some characteristics, like the leaves and the strength of the petals, were rather telling.

 _Solanaceae_ family member, specifically known as a Petunia.

You were just rounding around the large tree in front of Toriel's home when the meaning of said flower came to you, bringing you to a halt.

 _Anger... And Resentment._  

 

......

 

_Heh._

An ironic, bitter smile took your face then, lasting no more than a few seconds as you were suddenly trapped in the hug of a sobbing Goat Monster, the flower falling from your fingers to flutter to the ground beside your feet. She had apparently been anxiously waiting, hoping you were still alive after she had awoken and seen you nowhere in sight.

 

_...How fitting, indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =) Being angry is draining and poisonous, no? Gotta let all that poison out somehow...
> 
> Speaking of, to try and get the emotion across correctly, I only worked on it while angry in some shape or form. I hope I pulled it off somewhat okay.
> 
> Comments and Reviews heavily encouraged!


End file.
